Attention

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Officials with the city of Houston, Texas, who are defending a controversial ordinance that would allow men to use women’s restrooms now have demanded to see the sermons preached by several area pastors.

The recent move came in a subpoena from the city to pastors for copies of their sermons and other communications in the city’s legal defense of a “non-discrimination” measure that allows “gender-confused” people to use public restrooms designated for the opposite sex.

A lawsuit challenging Houston’s move alleges the city violated its own charter in its adoption of the Equal Rights Ordinance, which in May designated homosexuals and transgender persons as a protected class.

Critics say the measure effectively enables sexual predators who dress as women to enter female public bathrooms, locker rooms and shower facilities. A coalition of activists that includes area pastors filed suit Aug. 6 against the city and lesbian Mayor Annise Parker after officials announced a voter petition to repeal the measure didn’t have enough signatures to qualify for the election ballot.

With Halloween creeping up on us, we must turn our attention to spooky stuff. Though it looks like Republicans are in good shape to take the Senate, in the horrific possibility that Democrats prevail, here are the three scariest scenarios:

Former Attorney General Eric Holder could become a Supreme Court Justice

That may be why he resigned his AG post. With five of the nine current justices 75 or over, Obama may have two or three SCOTUS appointees approved by a Democrat majority by term’s end. Only a simple Senate majority is required for confirmation and the House doesn’t have a voice.

And what are Eric Holder’s qualifications? Hard to say; he has distinguished himself in so many ways. Immediately after taking his vow to uphold the nation’s laws, he halted the prosecution of menacing New Black Panthers standing at the doors of a polling place with billy clubs, violating the Voting Rights Act by intimidating voters as well as election judges.

On the above date and time, the Maryland State Police conducted a traffic stop on a 2014 white Jeep Cherokee bearing California registration 7FFX019 for excessive speed.

The driver of the vehicle was identified by his New York driver’s license as Baleek M. Thabet. During the course of the stop, numerous cartons of cigarettes were observed in the vehicle. A subsequent search of the vehicle revealed 513 cartons of untaxed cigarettes. The retail value of the cigarettes was $33,088.50, with a tax loss to the State of Maryland of $10,260.00. Thabet was arrested for the transportation of untaxed cigarettes and transported to the Maryland State Police Berlin Barrack for processing.

The Maryland State Comptroller’s Office was contacted and responded to the barrack to assist with the case.

A Purdue University professor says that while Ebola has so far only been been proven to be transmitted through bodily fluids, it could become airborne at virtually any time.

Dr. David Sanders has studied how the Ebola virus enters human cells since 2003. He told WRTV that the virus is “primed” to become airborne, making it even more likely that anyone with Ebola travelling by plane could infect fellow passengers

“It can enter the lung from the airway side,” Sanders told WRTV. “So this argues that Ebola is primed to have respiratory transmission.”

He said that, while certainly unproven, the idea of airborne transmission is hardly far-fetched. “We need to be taking this into consideration,” Sanders said. “What if? This is not a crazy, ‘What if?’ This is not a wild, ‘What if?’”

This is our dog Blue who went missing last night at about 7:30. We live on Riverside rd so most likely he stuck around the left side of 13. He is an american staffordshire terrier (pit bull). If anyone has any information please let us know.​ dgardner1@gulls.salisbury.edu443-517-3354

International health officials have admitted defeat. There is nothing more they can do. From now on, the disease will run its course.

The decision signifies a significant shift in the struggle against the rampaging disease. Officials said they would begin distributing painkillers, rehydrating solution and gloves to hundreds of Ebola-afflicted households in Sierra Leone, contending that the aid arriving here was not fast or extensive enough to keep up with an outbreak that doubles in size every month or so.

“It’s basically admitting defeat,” said Dr. Peter H. Kilmarx, the leader of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s team in Sierra Leone, adding that it was “now national policy that we should take care of these people at home.”

This is bad news for residents of Sierra Leone.

This will be a national laboratory to see how far this course is. But will the government report the deaths? How will the government collect these statistics?

Counterjihadist and Christian apologist blogger David Wood, proprietor of the site, Answering Muslims, published a video recently that has become particularly timely in the wake of the Obama administration’s disavowal of the relationship between Islam and the Islamic State, and the recent spat between Bill Maher and Ben Affleck.

In the video, Wood, who heads the Act 17 Apologetics Missionary and routinely debates Muslims on Islam based upon the Koran and Hadith, argues that the ideological basis for the Islamic State lies explicitly in the Koran.

To argue his point, Wood cites 10 verses in the Koran and provides some additional historical context.

MSNBC’s Al Sharpton conducts a standard analysis for conservatives and Republicans on his heavily partisan program: Repeat word-for-word whatever clip of them just played on PoliticsNation, but do it in the form of a question.

He does this a lot, apparently to show disdain for whatever he heard without having to go through the effort of coming up with new terminology.

Sharpton once did this to himself. After he read out a statement by Texas gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott that concluded, “It’s time to move beyond this,” Sharpton then said, “It’s time to move beyond this?”

"While Anthony Brown continues to run from his record as Lt. Governor, Maryland’s voters have lived that record for the last eight years and won’t forget when we go to the polls in 22 days,” said Larry Hogan. “Candidate Brown says he has a plan to make Maryland’s economy number 1. However, while he was put in charge of our state’s economic development, Maryland experienced zero growth over the last year and ranks 49th out of 50 states for economic growth.”

“On Maryland’s Healthcare Exchange, Lt. Governor Brown believed it would be a résumé builder. Yet, his failed leadership in the development and rollout of his health exchange disqualifies him from being governor,” charged Hogan.

“Albert Einstein once said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Maryland voters have a real clear choice for a change. We are sick and tired of the status quo in Annapolis that has forced over 200,000 Marylanders out of work, 8,600 businesses to fail, and our economy to flounder,” Hogan said.

“After more than 40 consecutive tax hikes that have taken an additional $10 billion out of our state’s economy, Anthony Brown and the current administration's misguided economic policies have crushed hardworking Marylanders and their families. Poll after poll shows that Marylanders are focused on the economy, jobs, and taxes. That has been my entire focus for the last three years. If you are happy with the way things have been going in Maryland over the last eight years, you should probably vote for my opponent. But if you're ready to move in a new direction, with a renewed focus on restoring our economy and rolling back as many of these O’Malley-Brown taxes as possible, then I ask you to join me to make a real difference to bring about change."

Death and taxes are two of life’s certainties, but the tax on death itself should certainly be eliminated. A recent analysis by The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Data Analysis found that doing away with the federal death tax would provide a much-needed, long-lasting boost to the nation’s economy. Indeed, it would increase economic growth by $46 billion over the next 10 years and add an average of 18,000 jobs per year throughout that period.

The federal death tax (officially known as the “estate tax”) confiscates 40 percent of the income and assets, above a specified exemption, that individuals leave behind after their death. The exemption currently stands at $5.34 million. Because of this high exemption level, the death tax hits only a small fraction of Americans directly — a fact that makes the levy popular among those who believe it is good tax policy to “soak the rich.” Yet for years pollsters have found widespread popular support for eliminating death taxes.

Perhaps Americans despise the death tax because taxing someone for dying just seems wrong. Or perhaps they recognize that income and assets seized by the death tax have already been taxed once — if not twice — by the feds. Or maybe antipathy toward the tax abounds because the American Dream instills the hope that we, too, may someday accumulate significant wealth to pass on to our children.

This 'PAINT NITE' event will help support Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore! There will be a LUNCH BUFFET from noon until 1:00pm - Available to any ticket holder for only $10 per person!

In just about two hours, the artists will guide you through the featured painting so that you come up with your own unique masterpiece! They provide everything you will need: canvas, paints, brushes and even a smock. You just bring your fun loving friends and have fun while you paint! Take home your custom fall pumpkin painting!!

This official town event provides activities for the whole family, including the family pet. Starting on Saturday, Oct. 18, the giant Halloween Beach Maze opens for adults and children to find their way through winding pathways on Ocean City’s beach while interacting with great Halloween props, whimsical characters and other special effects. This great beach experience is located just off the Boardwalk at N. Division Street and is free to all who dare enter this family-friendly attraction. The maze is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. October 18-19 and Oct. 24-25, weather permitting.

The Howl-O-Ween Pet Parade scampers onto the Boardwalk at N. Division Street on Oct. 18 with registration opening at 1 p.m. Pets, pet owners and pet lovers will find this gathering of costumed furry friends (or not so furry) to be a great time whether as a participant or spectator. Owners don’t forget your costumes. Participation is free. Parade begins at 2 p.m.

July of this year, President Obama signed into law an amendment to the Executive Order 13295, which redefines who can be quarantined and why. This does not bode well for a nation that could potentially face an Ebola pandemic. It smacks of pre-meditated bio-warfare and martial law on a nation’s own citizens.

This means that any police officer or ‘health official’ can, without question, and on suspicion alone, quarantine someone simply for showing any sign of ‘respiratory illness.’ None other than the war-mongering Bush Administration, first put the order into place, originally meant to quarantine victims of SARS. Ebola just happened to be listed on the original executive order, too, signed by Bush. But now, with the exception of influenza, Americans can be detained for any health concern, including Ebola, even if it is not named as such.

When you add to this the fact that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) already has measures in place for dealing with an outbreak of a communicable disease which allows for the quarantine of “well persons” who “do not show symptoms” of the disease, then Americans need to pay some serious attention to what is happening to their civil rights.

A major restructuring at Bechtel Corp. means many of the 1,100 employees in Frederick will relocate to Reston, Virginia.

Michelle Michael, spokeswoman for the company, said a “substantial” number of employees in Frederick will move because of the restructuring.

“We will have a presence in Frederick, but I don’t know what the number will be,” Michael said in a telephone interview.

Michael said the move will be in phases. Bechtel opened its operations in Frederick in 1999.

In 2011, Maryland officials negotiated with Bechtel to keep 1,250 jobs in Frederick through December 2018. Bechtel received a $9.5 million state grant in the deal. According to the deal, Bechtel must report the number of Frederick jobs at the end of each year to the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development and pay money back if the employee level falls below the agreed-upon number.

One of America's top health officials says there would probably already be a vaccine for Ebola if it were not for budget cuts to scientific research, but his own agency has seen a 69 per cent annual budget increase since 2000.

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said a lack of money invested in research over the past decade has hampered the production of vaccinations for infectious diseases. And a new television ad claims that budget 'cuts' enacted by Republicans are responsible.

But Collins himself presides over the decision-making on how much NIH funding is devoted to medical research, an insider told MailOnline. And overall funding for the agency is up to $30.15 billion this year – up from $17.84 billion in 2000.

And the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, the sub-agency in charge of research to combat potential epidemics, has seen a whopping 220 per cent increase in the same period of time.

BATON ROUGE, La. (WJZ) — NASA’s replacement for the retired space shuttle will take humans farther than ever before. The space launch system will travel to asteroids and eventually to Mars, which according to the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., NASA has been exploring with its MAVEN Spacecraft.

Linh Bui introduces us to one amazing young lady, who’s preparing herself for a seat on that mission.

Alyssa Carson is getting ready for a journey to Mars, even though she’s not even old enough to drive yet.

Thirteen-year-old Alyssa Carson wants to be an astronaut — a dream she’s had since the age of 3.

Ann Romney slammed the door Monday on another attempt at the White House for her husband Mitt, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee.

Attempting to put a pin in rumors that her husband is secretly plotting another campaign for higher office once and and for all, Romney told a reporter for the Los Angeles Times that she and Mitt were 'done' running for president 'completely.'

'Not only Mitt and I are done, but the kids are done,' she said, referring to the couple's five sons.

'Done. Done. Done,' she added, making her feelings on the matter crystal clear.

Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc. and the Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture at Salisbury University have joined forces to preserve the history of Delmarva’s chicken industry.

Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc. (DPI) is the 1,800-member non-profit trade association for the meat chicken industry in Delaware, the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and the Eastern Shore of Virginia. The Nabb Research Center at Salisbury University works to cultivate and sustain the advancement of scholarly research through collecting, preserving, disseminating and providing access to records and artifacts which illustrate the rich historical and cultural heritage of the greater Delmarva region.

DPI’s collection of tens of thousands of newspaper and magazine stories from the early 1950s to 2001 has been transferred to the Nabb Center for proper storage and accessibility to the general public. These clippings contain countless stories about chicken industry events, news, activities, recipes, and much more in which Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc. is mentioned. This collection provides a tremendous history of the local chicken industry. Due to the lack of space and proper storage conditions needed to avoid deterioration, DPI approached the Nabb Center about taking the collection. It readily agreed.

Additionally, the Nabb Center has agreed to help preserve mementos from the Delmarva Chicken Festivals from 1948 until 2014. Annually, DPI displayed at the Delmarva Chicken Festival historical memorabilia from prior festivals. With the elimination of the DPI-sponsored Delmarva Chicken Festival, there are limited opportunities to share these memorabilia with interested persons. The Nabb Center has taken ownership of the original materials on the large display easels familiar to many chicken festival visitors.Following accessioning of the materials, they will be available to researchers at the center.

“The history of Delmarva’s chicken industry reflects the history of the entire peninsula and is worthy of preservation,” noted DPI Executive Director Bill Satterfield “We do not have the facilities or ability to preserve these documents as they should be preserved and we are delighted that the Nabb Research Center was anxious to take custody of them.” Nabb Research Center Director Dr. Ray Thompson said “The Nabb Center is pleased to receive the significant Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc. collection. Both students and extra-mural researchers will find the materials to be of great value in documenting an important era in Delmarva’s economic history.”

Once the documents have been organized and preserved, they will be available for viewing at the Nabb Research Center on the campus of Salisbury University.

(Reuters) - Former Charlotte Mayor Patrick Cannon was sentenced on Tuesday to 44 months in U.S. prison after admitting to using his public positions in North Carolina's largest city for personal financial gain, including taking at least $50,000 in bribes.

Cannon, a Democrat who served on the Charlotte City Council before being elected mayor last November, pleaded guilty in June to a public corruption charge. A nearly four-year investigation resulted in his arrest and resignation in March.

"I'm sorry," Cannon said during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday. "I let a lot of people down."

Far more important than what a $405 million shortfall means for the state budget is the painful reality that it indicates for the budgets of Maryland families and small businesses.

Six years removed from the economic collapse, and far too many families and small businesses are still waiting for the recovery they keep hearing about.

We can classify a year or two outside the ordinary as simply abnormal. But more than a half decade later, we need to accept that sluggish growth and challenging economic conditions have become our new normal.

Yet, another year has passed, and ordinary families and small businesses haven’t even recovered to where they were before the financial collapse, much less made up for the wages they’ve lost over the past six years. We need to recognize that hope is not an economic strategy.

Wages and salaries are essentially stagnant. Local, independent businesses are struggling to meet payroll, cover their costs and turn a profit. Working families have cut back their spending because they just don’t have the money, they’re scared of losing their jobs, or, in many cases, both.

The housing market has failed to rebound in a sustained and meaningful way, particularly with Maryland second worst in the nation in home foreclosure rates

Combined, these economic indicators led to a Maryland economy that didn’t grow at all last year – with a 0 percent GDP growth for 2013. As we know, an economy that isn’t growing is actually retracting. This all means uncertainty for families and businesses. They are unsure about their prospects and, as a result, unwilling to make the purchases and investments our consumer-driven economy needs to grow.

We simply can’t assume that we’re around the corner from returning to the way it was, and back to the decisions we could afford to make in Maryland as a result. The fact remains that we’ll only see the economic growth we’re accustomed to when we get the private sector economy growing. We can only make that happen if we provide a sense of predictability for Maryland families and small businesses.

ISIS is threatening “lone wolf” attacks against the FBI, police officers, government officials, and “media figures” in America, according to a new warning issued by federal officials. A Joint Intelligence bulletin from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the FBI as sent to law enforcement agencies across the United States.

An Islamic State spokesman recently recorded an audio message which reportedly urged lone wolf ISIS supporters in all Western nations to attack “soldiers, patrons, and troops” along with “police, security, and intelligence members.” The ISIS recording informed their supporters in America and the United Kingdom that they did not need to ask for “advice” or perhaps, permission, from anyone prior to initiating such an attack, because such strikes are considered “legitimate.”

An English translation of the ISIS message was posted to a jihadi forum in late September, according to NBC News. The terrorism threat recording was attributed to Islamic State spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani. During the same time period an ISIS supporter published a document on an “ISIS-dominated web forum” that called for both lone wolf “operations” and “open source jihad” against a list of “potential targets” that also include the same demographic.

(CUMBERLAND, MD) – A Maryland state trooper located a car this morning in order to provide life saving aid to a non-breathing infant along Interstate 68, in Cumberland, Maryland.

Trooper First Class Matthew Schoenadel was standing by the eastbound ramp from I-68 to Winchester Road about 7:40 a.m. this morning, after the Maryland State Police Cumberland Barrack received a panic call from a woman stating her grandson was not breathing. Tfc. Schoenadel located and stopped the vehicle, immediately advising the occupants he was there to help.

When Tfc. Schoenadel saw the infant, the baby was not breathing. He appeared pale and his eyes were rolled back in his head. Without hesitation, he turned baby boy on his stomach to clear the baby’s airway. The infant responded and began to breathe. He soon regained color in his face and was transported to Western Maryland Health System by ambulance.

Tfc. Schoenadel is a nine year veteran of the Maryland State Police. He is currently assigned to Cumberland Barrack.

The first independent prosecutor in the Whitewater investigation said that he had quickly uncovered "serious crimes" and was ready to indict top Arkansas figures — based on testimony from a key witness against former President Bill Clinton — before he was abruptly replaced by a panel of federal judges.

"I was angry, frustrated and above all disappointed that I was not going to be able to carry through and finish bringing the indictments," writes Robert Fiske, a former U.S. attorney who was appointed by Attorney General Janet Reno in 1994 to investigate the land deal, in his forthcoming book, "Prosecutor Defender Counselor."

Fiske, now 83 and a partner in the New York law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell, told Yahoo News this week that his removal ultimately caused the Whitewater probe against Bill and Hillary Clinton to drag on for longer than necessary under Kenneth Starr.

Two Virginia universities are pressing each other to unearth the information they exchanged after an on-campus rape allegation against Jesse “LJ” Matthew Jr. more than a decade ago, when the football player was transferring from Liberty University to Christopher Newport University shortly after a woman accused him of sexual assault.

Matthew, 32, has been charged with abduction in last month’s disappearance of University of Virginia sophomore Hannah Elizabeth Graham, an alleged kidnapping that police say was for the purposes of sexually assaulting the 18-year-old from Fairfax County. The search continues for Graham, who went missing after witnesses saw her with Matthew in the early hours of Sept. 13 on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall.

The allegations against Matthew from the early 2000s are receiving renewed law-enforcement scrutiny amid a widening investigation spurred by the Graham case.

Liberty and CNU officials said they are cooperating in that investigation, which has expanded beyond Graham to encompass two more unsolved attacks on women, including a violent sexual assault in Fairfax City in 2005 and the case of Morgan Harrington, a Virginia Tech student who disappeared from Charlottesville in 2009 and was later found dead.

The U.S. economy is underperforming, and the Federal Reserve’s low interest rate policies won’t reinvigorate it.

To cope with the financial crisis, President Obama pulled out all the stops — record deficits, bank and automaker bailouts, and sweeping financial reform — but since the summer of 2009, GDP has advanced only 2.2 percent annually. One out of six men ages 25 to 54 remain jobless, wages are stagnant and family incomes continue to fall.

People who care about their privacy should stay away from popular consumer Internet services...

According to Edward Snowden, people who care about their privacy should stay away from popular consumer Internet services like Dropbox, Facebook, and Google.

Snowden conducted a remote interview today as part of the New Yorker Festival, where he was asked a couple of variants on the question of what we can do to protect our privacy.

His first answer called for a reform of government policies. Some people take the position that they “don’t have anything to hide,” but he argued that when you say that, “You’re inverting the model of responsibility for how rights work”:

When you say, ‘I have nothing to hide,’ you’re saying, ‘I don’t care about this right.’ You’re saying, ‘I don’t have this right, because I’ve got to the point where I have to justify it.’ The way rights work is, the government has to justify its intrusion into your rights.

When President Barack Obama takes Air Force One on a fundraising swing, he is required under the law to reimburse taxpayers for certain travel expenses.

But as Mark Knoller of CBS News reports, the White House has made it a practice of not publicly releasing specific reimbursement figures, making it impossible for the public to see exactly how much they pay every time the president goes on a political trip.

Knoller says it’s not about national security reasons, but rather about saving face.

“Very simply, the White House doesn’t want to disclose the material because it might be embarrassing and would draw lots of criticism, which Mr. Obama can do without,” Knoller reports.

Please join us at the Salisbury Wicomico County Regional Airport tonight at 7:30pm as we welcome one of our Wounded Warriors to the area for the Heroes Haven Hunting Event. There is no escort, just the opportunity to say thank you and show our hero some Eastern Shore hospitality. Bring your American flag!

We just lost our large all white male cat about 19lbs and would like any help you can offer us. He is house cat but very friendly, His name is Alaska. We live at 6090 Massey Crossing Rd in Willards, Md. Please call Marie at 410-430-6215 if you find him.

Queen Anne's County Office of the SheriffMaryland State Police assisted by QA Deputies are chasing an African-American male who fled on foot from an accident scene. He was last observed crossing RT 50 running towards the Outlets. Large amount of police response in the area. Please use caution.

We asked staffers what they really think of their Hill bosses. Here are the results of our 15th biennial survey.Politicians often praise the resilience of the American people in dark times, exhorting us to show the sort of spirit that makes us so indomitable a nation. No group, however, is more stalwart than America’s representatives themselves.

Despite approval ratings lower than Vladimir Putin’s, the men and women of the 113th Congress have continued to debate, investigate, raise funds, and campaign with ebullience. Seeing as little if any legislation arises from their activities, it’s apparent that if there are winners and losers, hits and misses, the average citizen isn’t privy to the scorecard.

Since 1986, Washingtonian has sought the help of congressional aides in understanding their bosses. Every two years, before lawmakers and their staffs head off for August recess to start the election season in earnest, we send an extensive survey asking for the best and worst performers in a host of categories designed to get past the headlines and TV-news zingers to capture the true culture of Capitol Hill.

Healthcare experts are criticizing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Thomas Frieden for blaming a Dallas nurse's Ebola infection on a "protocol breach," saying that she is being scapegoated for a larger problem.

"You don't scapegoat and blame when you have a disease outbreak," Bonnie Castillo of National Nurses United told Reuters on Sunday. "We have a system failure. That is what we have to correct."

According to the CDC and Texas officials, the female nurse was wearing the recommended gear, including a gown, gloves, mask, and eye shield needed when handling a Ebola patient when she was caring for Liberian Thomas Eric Duncan, who died last week at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, reports Fox News.

But such gear may only offer a minimum amount of protection when Ebola reaches its final stages, Sean Kaufman, president of an Atlanta-based hospital staff training company, told Reuters.

Ocean Bowl Skate Park, located at 3rd Street and St. Louis Avenue, will host a Fall Skate Jam, on Saturday, October 18. The event will begin at 11 a.m. and end at 1 p.m. Participants will enjoy free contests with prizes, as well as, live music by the newly popular local band, Funk Shue. Concessions will be available for sale.

This year’s program is being presented by Quiet Storm and held in partnership with Ocean City Recreation and Parks. All skaters under age 18 must have a liability waiver signed by a parent or guardian in order to participate.

'Past time to stop the madness of wasting great sums of money on EPA's imaginary threat'

Scientists and others on a team assembled by the Chicago-based Heartland Institute, which focuses on free-market solutions to today’s problems, say the “scare” of global warming from the use of carbon fuels and other human activities “is over.”

It’s “past time” for the world to realize that and “stop the madness of wasting great sums of money on EPA’s imaginary threat,” contends Kenneth Haapala, the executive vice president of the Science and Environmental Policy Project at the Heartland Institute.

Institute experts said Thursday the Remote Sensing Systems, which provide data to NASA, NOAA and the National Science Foundation, have confirmed “the global mean surface temperature has not risen for 18 consecutive years.”

“This extends the so-called ‘pause’ in global warming to a new record, one not predicted by the climate models of the United Nations’ International Panel on Climate Change,” the organization said.

Governments around the world turning to voice biometrics to collect taxes

Over the telephone, in jail and online, a new digital bounty is being harvested: the human voice.

Businesses and governments around the world increasingly are turning to voice biometrics, or voiceprints, to pay pensions, collect taxes, track criminals and replace passwords.

“We sometimes call it the invisible biometric,” said Mike Goldgof, an executive at Madrid-based AGNITiO, one of about 10 leading companies in the field.

Those companies have helped enter more than 65 million voiceprints into corporate and government databases, according to Associated Press interviews with dozens of industry representatives and records requests in the United States, Europe and elsewhere.

“There’s a misconception that the technology we have today is only in the domain of the intelligence services, or the domain of `Star Trek,’” said Paul Burmester, of London-based ValidSoft, a voice biometric vendor. “The technology is here today, well-proven and commonly available.”

Saudi Arabia will likely see the United States surpass it as the biggest liquid petroleum producer in the world, it has been reported.

The change may happen this week, according to The Times, which pointed out that the shift would end Saudi Arabia's twenty-year streak as the biggest producer.

The United States now produces nearly 12million barrels each day, as opposed to 8million barrels three years ago, the newspaper reported.

On Monday, the head of the west's energy watchdog said the vast majority of shale oil in the United States is produced at costs far below the current price of crude, which means U.S. projects can withstand the market slump squeezing other producers.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- They have health insurance, but still no peace of mind. Overall, 1 in 4 privately insured adults say they doubt they could pay for a major unexpected illness or injury.

A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research may help explain why President Barack Obama faces such strong headwinds in trying to persuade the public that his health care law is holding down costs.

The survey found the biggest financial worries among people with so-called high-deductible plans that require patients to pay a big chunk of their medical bills each year before insurance kicks in.

On October 12, 2014 at approximately 0115 hours, Worcester County Sheriff's Office Deputies were dispatched to a burglary in progress in the 12800 block of Harbor Road, West Ocean City, Md. Deputies were informed that a male subject was beating down a door with an axe. When Deputies arrived on scene they found a hole in the exterior door to one of the apartments. Upon further investigation it was learned that one of the residents allegedly used a heavy steel tool to break down the door of another resident at the hotel. Mr. James Bennis, 49, of West Ocean City, Md. was developed as a suspect and was placed under arrest and charged with 1st, 3rd and 4th Degree Burglary, Reckless Endangerment, and Disorderly Conduct. Mr. Bennis was taken before a District Court Commissioner and is being held at the Worcester County Jail without bond.

On September 28th, members of the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office K9 Unit attended the 4th annual Lehigh Valley K9 Trials, originally introduced in memory of fallen K9 Officer Kyle Pagerly. The event donates money each year to families of fallen officers in financial need. Teams from the region and surrounding states attend. The trials consist of 5 events. Obedience/Agility, Narcotics Detection, Call-Off, Fastest Dog, and Tactical Obedience.

Cpl. Edgar and K9 Jonka received Third Place in Obedience/Agility and First Place in Tactical Obedience.

Cpl. Ramey and K9 Karma received the “Decoy’s Choice” award, selected by the decoy’s working the field events who picked out a particular dog that stood out.

Cpl. Larmore was honored with a plaque for K9 Ike who was killed in the line of duty on May 3, 2014. The yearly K9 Trials T-shirt was also made in K9 Ike’s honor.

Indeed, it would take a drop of this magnitude just to get back to average long-term valuation levels, let alone cheap.

Meanwhile, after 5 years of frantically pumping money into the financial system, the Fed is not only still going full bore (interest rates are zero) but facing ever-increasing pressure to ease off the gas.

So if stock prices do drop sharply, it doesn't seem likely that the Fed will be able to do much to help.

Meanwhile, corporate profit margins are still at all-time highs, wages are still at all-time lows, and average American consumers still have debt coming out of their ears.

So it seems likely that, at some point, profit margins will decline, wages will rise (we can only hope), and average American consumers will continue to rein in spending — none of which will boost further profit growth.

WHO: Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt and members of the Wicomico County Vision Action Team: Stakeholders from Business, Academia, Local Government and Non-Government Organizations.

WHAT: Announcement from County Executive Pollitt on progress from a year and a half-long initiative that brought community leaders together to develop on-going strategies and action items to serve as a comprehensive vision for Wicomico County.

Directly following County Executive Pollitt’s remarks, members of the Vision Action Team will present updates on progress made as a result of sub-group initiatives under City/County Synergy, Education, Economic Development, Transportation, Watershed Improvement, Agriculture and Healthy Communities.

BackgroundIn May 2013, as an outgrowth of recent, successful business and economic development initiatives at both the local and state-level, Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt, convened a group of community decision-makers tasked with developing specific, and measurable tactics to realize the vision of a prosperous future for the greater community.

Utilizing strategic recommendations from the Sage Policy Group Fiscal Sustainability Study, and the Tri-County Council’s Visioning Report, stakeholders from business, academia, local government and non-governmental organizations, ignited a series of roundtables to identify priorities and explore opportunities for better coordination and collaboration. BEACON, The Business Economic and Community Outreach Network at Salisbury University served as the technical advisor over the visioning process.

Sub-sets within the group were formed to focus explicitly on the needs, challenges and action items necessary to promote the evolution of City/County Synergy through the coordination of services, Economic Development, Education, Transportation, Watershed Improvements, Agriculture and Healthy Communities.

The group will continue to meet regularly to report on progress made on designated goals and objectives identified in the Wicomico County Visioning Report.

Hello, I am a part of the cheer organization for Delmar pop warner.. Didn't know if this would be the place for it.. But just wanted to throw out there that the Delmar pee wee and midget cheerleaders both placed first at their Cape Henelopen conference competition and will be advancing to regional. The midget squad will compete again November 9 in Trenton New Jersey and the pee wee girls on November 16 in Albany New York. These girls have worked so hard. And I just wanted to congratulate them on a job well done. The coaching staff as well as your parents and fans are all so proud of you!

Sobo's Catering invites you to a special dinner event at Bordeleau Winery in Eden, Maryland. Thursday, October 30th at 6:00pm. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to SaveFarmFamilies.org to help support local area farmers and their families!

We are proud to partner on this event with Bordeleau Winery as well as these other great sponsors: Sewansecott Oysters from H.M. Terry Co., BayWater Greens and Rise Up Coffee.

Chef Arturo Suazo will prepare a fall harvest menu, each course paired with your choice of eVo beer or featured Bordeleau wine. Tickets are on sale now at SoBo's Wine Beerstro and Bordeleau. Limited quantities are available, cost is $60 each.

October is a busy time at The Red Roost! There is still plenty going on for our last month of the season! Don't forget, our hours changed for October. Closed Tuesday through Thursday. Open Fridays at 5:30pm and Saturdays and Sundays, open at noon!

Only two weekends left to catch our HAUNTED HAYRIDE! Every Friday & Saturday night in October, the hayrides start at dusk! (Weather permitting.)

Cost for the Haunted Hayride is only $5 per person!

Proudly supporting TOYS FOR TOTS! The Red Roost is accepting new and unwrapped toys until Sunday 10/26. With your toy donation, on a Friday or Saturday night, you will receive a free hayride!

This year's Season Closing HALLOWEEN COSTUME PARTY is Sat., Oct. 25th!

Live Music with MURPHY'S LAW starting at 8:00pm, Kid's Costume Contest starts at 8:00pm! Adult Costume Contest at 10:00pm! Fun Games & Prizes!

ATLANTA – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, affects one in every seven school-aged children in the U.S., and between 2003 and 2011 the number of children diagnosed with the condition rose by more than 40 percent.

Doctors have considerable leeway in deciding the best course of treatment for a child with the condition, no matter who is paying the bill. But children covered by Medicaid, the joint federal-state health care program for the poor, are at least 50 percent more likely to be diagnosed with the disorder. Georgia alone spends $28 million to $33 million annually on these treatments out of its $2.5 billion Medicaid budget, according to the Barton Child Law and Policy Center here at Emory University.

Going to the doctor's office isn't the only way to get a check-up anymore. Almost 700,000 vets are using tele-health services at the Veterans Affairs Department. That's about 12 percent of the veteran population. Tele-health lets patients use video-conferencing to consult with specialists. Vets can even get medical examinations electronically. Home tele-health is an option too. Older vets can directly connect to a VA hospital from home phone lines. Veterans living in rural areas make up more than half of the tele-health visits. They don't always have easy access to VA healthcare.

The State Department gets rid of transgender exclusion from its largest health insurance program. The American Foreign Service Protective Association's Foreign Service Benefit Plan covers nearly 60,000 State and Defense employees. Policies under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program usually exclude services related to sex reassignment. But starting in January, transgender employees under AFSPA will have the same coverage as all other State employees. The Washington Post reports the State Department is a front runner in policies affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender feds. The agency has more than ten health insurance providers. State has asked all of its providers to lift the transgender exclusion.

Court decisions this week paving the way for same-sex marriage to become legal in dozens of states, including Mormon strongholds like Utah, Idaho and Nevada, have emboldened a growing group of Latter-day Saints who are pushing the conservative church to become more accepting of gay members.

The church's stance toward gays has softened considerably since it was one of the leading forces behind California's ban on gay marriage in 2008, but high-ranking leaders have reiterated time and again the faith's opposition to same-sex unions.

Some Mormons hope to change that, or at least work to make congregations more welcoming places for gays and lesbians.

Erika Munson, co-founder of a group pushing the faith to be more accepting of gays, said she worries about losing younger Mormons because of the church's stance. One of her five children, an adult son, has chosen to not to practice Mormonism, in part because of the religion's stance on homosexuality.